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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · kick · bat · ground · mouse · snap · fall · wind

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. snap — to click
  3. wind — moving air
  4. firm — steady
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wind — moving air
  10. ground — a position
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. firm — decided
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. firm — a company
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com